Sacred Space But Earthly Challenges

Published: April 25, 2004

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Despite the fact that the Friends of West-Park proposal represented widespread opposition to the church's original plan, Dr. Brashear said: ''I didn't object to that at all. On the West Side, this could have gone to lawsuits and people walking around with signs. Instead, in a relatively short period of time, a great deal of positive and creative energy has gone into trying to find solutions that would meet the interests of both church and community.''

West-Park is not the only church to encounter criticism over the prospect of an apartment house on its land. In fact, the merest suggestion that a residential tower might go up to help the Bowne Street Community Church in Flushing alleviate its financial shortfall ignited a furor.

The church leadership had approached the Clarett Group two years ago about developing its property with a 20-story luxury condo, but L. D. Clepper, chairman of the congregation's governing board, said it had never been more than a wisp of a concept. ''It was presented by the building committee as 'Hey, look, here's an idea,' '' he said. The plan was turned down by a majority of the congregation.

Like West-Park, the church, an amalgamation of congregations formerly aligned with the Reformed Church in America, the United Church of Christ and the Taiwanese Christian Church, was in need of serious repairs. But, Mr. Clepper said, the leadership preferred to expand its public service activities. ''We wanted to put in day-care centers for children and the elderly and a soup kitchen,'' he said.

For now, the church, which was built in the 1890's and which has Tiffany windows, is dipping into its endowment to meet repair expenses. ''We are spending anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 on maintenance, and several years ago we estimated that we would have to spend $500,000 in the next 10 years,'' Mr. Clepper said.

The battle there is not yet over. It has shifted into a controversy over potential designation by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has it on the calendar for consideration.

''The church voted narrowly last summer against landmarking,'' Mr. Clepper said. ''Our opposition is based on the idea that it is a violation of the doctrine of separation of church and state, but I think it will happen, and if it does, we will live with it.''

Linda Mandell, a retired schoolteacher, is spearheading the effort to win landmarks approval. Noting that a parking lot on the property would not be part of the landmark, she said: ''We are not in any way trying to hurt the church or starve it out. It would still be able to build, but the plans would have to be approved by the commission.''

Ms. Mandell lives across the street from the church. ''Flushing is incredibly overcrowded,'' she said, ''and this is the only beautiful thing I can see out of my window.''

Officials at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine have also been considering the construction of new buildings on its grounds, but they would almost surely be academic rather than residential.

Several years ago, trustees of the cathedral began to consider leasing two parcels of land on the Morningside Heights campus to raise funds for $20 million in deferred maintenance. One of the parcels runs from Amsterdam Avenue to Morningside Drive north of the cathedral, the other is the southeast corner of the property at West 110th Street and Morningside Drive.

Last year, despite the fact that completion of the majestic structure is nowhere in sight, it was designated a landmark. Part of the agreement with the landmarks commission exempted the vacant parcels so that the cathedral could develop them, and Columbia University was granted exclusive rights over the sites.

But the City Council, which has the power to rule on landmark designations, took the unusual step of turning it down, arguing that the entire campus ought to be landmarked. Mayor Bloomberg vetoed the decision, but the council in turn overrode the veto. The result: no landmark, at least not for now.

''That caused Columbia great pause and they said they didn't want to continue to be involved with us in a way that would injure our relationship with the City Council,'' said the Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski, dean of the cathedral. ''So we are no longer in an exclusive conversation with Columbia.''

No matter who ends up with rights to the land -- and it may well yet be Columbia -- its disposition is considered critical to the cathedral's resources.

''Last year we had a $1 million deficit on a budget of $7 million to $8 million, and this year will have another $800,000 to $1 million,'' Dean Kowalski said. ''Unless we plug the ongoing deficit, it will be hard to get people to give. They want to give, but not to something that is bleeding to death.''

Columbia has come to the aid of another religious institution, the 168-year-old Union Theological Seminary at Broadway and 121st Street, whose endowment has been shrinking since the early 1960's.

''It was large enough so we could limp along through deferred maintenance, but after a while the chicken does come home to roost,'' said the Rev. Dr. Joseph C. Hough Jr., president of the seminary. ''In 1999, the trustees decided to borrow against our real estate holdings to fix the shell.''

Another academic institution wanted to buy the entire campus, but that seemed too drastic a move. Columbia will rent two of the seminary's nine buildings and move its religion department there in the fall. ''We were ready for a long-term commitment but didn't want one that would last 100 years, and to have an academic partner rent our space was a real bonus,'' Dr. Hough said.

Development Alliances

A Matter Of Compatibility

Compatibility is crucial to the success of any alliance that brings two religious institutions together, whether they are the same denomination or not.

As Rabbi Eric Polakoff, spiritual leader of B'nai Israel, a Reform Jewish congregation in Southbury, Conn., which joined forces with the Federation, Jewish Communities of Western Connecticut, the umbrella organization that provides financing, programs and services, to put up a building, said: ''Going into a merger is like going into a marriage. It doesn't always work, but we knew we had to trust one another as institutions because this is a small area and we need one another.''

The synagogue was already the product of a merger in 1997, that of Temple Israel, which subsequently sold its building in Waterbury to a Mormon church, and B'nai Chaim, which was renting space in a Lutheran church in Southbury.

''We met in a former dance studio in Woodbury for a few years, trying to live modestly and scrimp for our first home,'' Rabbi Polakoff said. ''We worked hard to integrate our two congregations into one family. Being in the wilderness to do that was a good experience.''

Now that they have a home -- 27,000 square feet on 14 acres where cows still come to graze -- they have rented out space to another congregation, Beth El Synagogue.

An 80-year-old Conservative congregation from Waterbury, Beth El had 350 families in its heyday. ''But people stopped moving into Waterbury, our members were getting old, the building needed repair and it was too much,'' said Dr. Maurice Falk, a retired pediatrician who is president of Beth El. ''In 1997, we decided to sell to a yeshiva for about $600,000 and set up a synagogue in a storefront.''

As Rabbi Polakoff sees it, having a place to call home means more than ownership of real estate. ''A congregation that does not have a building does not have the permanence to guarantee the future,'' he said. ''If you're really interested in preserving the future, you need a structure.''

Photos: The church and apartment building that might replace the West-Park Presbyterian Church if housing development option is pursued. (Photo by Jon Seagull for Franke, Gottsegen, Cox Architects); Rendering of what the redesigned West-Park Presbyterian Church might look like under a plan advanced by the Friends of West-Park. (Photo by Daniel Samton for Gruzen Samton/Page Ayres Cowley)(pg. 1); Bay Ridge United Methodist Church in Brooklyn. Its pastor described the congregation as ''land and property rich, and cash poor.'' (Photo by Stephanie Keith for The New York Times); The campus in Southbury, Conn., that is home to B'nai Israel and the Federation, Jewish Communities of Western Connecticut. (Photo by George Ruhe for The New York Times); Bowne Street Community Church in Flushing, Queens, which is feeling financial pressure and is under consideration for landmark status. (Photo by Stephanie Keith for The New York Times); The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where new buildings on the grounds are being considered. (Photo by James Estrin/The New York Times)(pg. 6)